Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Heart of the Cards, Guide Me ❯ Recognition ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]
I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, but I do own Sakura and Meritaten.

Chapter one: Recognition

As she walked into her first day at her new school, Sakura Taylor looked around. It was just like any other school. She looked around for someone in particular. Her cousin Tristan Taylor was supposed to be going to school here. At least she'd see a familiar face.
She walked to the office and they gave Sakura her homeroom number. The bell rang as she found her class. The teacher didn't look happy at the slightly late arrival at first, but then he realized she was the new student. He stood up. "Class, this is our new student, Sakura Taylor. Sakura, you can sit there, in the third row next to Yugi."
Sakura didn't like being in front of the class (well, she didn't like crowds in general) so she hurried to her seat. But as she got to the second row a foot shot out. She fell hard, her long red hair going in her face and the necklace she wore fell from where she hid it under her shirt. Almost everybody laughed.
Why does everything always happen to me? Sakura thought. Not even Tristan knew her parents had died and she was going to live with Tristan. He didn't even know. She had arrived by train that morning and her uncle had met her at the train station and drove her to school. She had no possessions except her backpack, notebook, pencils, pens, and five novels. And her mother's serpent ring. Her uncle and aunt hadn't wanted Sakura to live with them, but they were the closest relatives, so after a year of arguments, her uncle and aunt had had to adopt her. Sakura was always being beaten up at her old school, always called the weirdo, the book grub. Oh, why did everything happen to her?
Sakura was amazed to find a hand was offered to her. She took it and it helped her up. She looked at its owner. "Thanks," she muttered in her quiet voice to the kid who must be Yugi.
"No problem," he said with a smile. Sakura didn't smile anymore, so didn't return the warmth. Then Yugi saw the small golden serpent ring around a chain on her neck. He stared, and his Yami took over. Yes, his Yami had seen this ring before. He stared at it. She looks just like...No, it can't be, he thought. Then Yugi was Yugi again and he blinked. Being so close to his Yami he recognized her too, but he couldn't quite place it and didn't say anything as Sakura sat down next to him.
The bell rang and Sakura got up from her seat. Yugi was right behind her. From the back row Tristan got up and followed Sakura too. "Hey, Sakura!" he yelled.
Sakura looked back and saw her cousin. "Tristan!" she said and gave her cousin a hug. It was the first hug Sakura had received in almost a year.
Yugi looked at them. "Are you two related?" he asked.
"Yeah, Yugi, we're cousins!" Tristan said. "Hey, Sakura, have you met Yugi?" he asked.
"Hi! I'm Yugi, like Tristan said," said Yugi with a warm smile. He still couldn't get over his recognition. Where had he seen her...?
"Hi, Yugi. I'm Sakura Taylor," she said in her quiet voice.
Then a boy and a girl walked up to the three. "Hey, Joey. Hi, Téa. This is my cousin Sakura," Tristan said before they could ask.
"Hey, Sakura," Téa said warmly. She smiled. "I'm Téa. It's nice to meet you."
"Tristan, I didn't know you had a cousin," Joey said. "Well, a relative of Tristan's is a friend of mine," he said.
Sakura stared. She attempted to smile, but all that happened was a little quirk at the side of her mouth. She didn't talk much, and she didn't have any friends at her old school. This was entirely new to her. She walked down the hall with them to first period class. She decided to try to make friends with these people, the friends of her cousin. They seemed nice enough. At least she could try. The worst they could do was not like her or beat her up. That had happened to Sakura many times.
And she didn't have to try very hard. They sat with her at lunch. They all had the same schedule as her, so she was with them at every class. They seemed to accept her quietness and shyness. They seemed to like her. Sakura was introduced to Bakura and she was told never to go near Seto Kaiba. She was introduced to Mai, who didn't seem to like Sakura's quietness but seemed to like Sakura herself enough.
And she was invited to the game shop after school. "Grandpa! I'm home!" Yugi said as they walked into the shop.
"Yugi! I see you've brought a new friend. Hello, I'm Yugi's grandpa. How are you?" the friendly old man who was Yugi's grandpa said.
"I'm Sakura Taylor, Tristan's cousin," Sakura said. She looked into his purple eyes and he smiled wide. Sakura was surprised he smiled at her, being she was so unaccustomed to friends and people being friendly.
"Ah, a shy one. Don't talk much, do you? Nice head of hair, though," Grandpa said. "Have you ever played Duel Monsters?"
This was something Sakura had never heard about. She shook her head. "No?" Grandpa asked. "You don't say. Never even heard of it? Cards with monsters on them, each has attack and defense points, and you duel with them?" This puzzled Sakura even more. She had never even seen cards like that.
Well, she had seen something like that, something that was becoming popular where she had came from. What were they called? Pokeran? Okeman? She didn't know. She never really paid attention to the ever-changing fads. She was happy with her books and her notepad and pencils.
"I think we're going to have to show her," Joey said. He took something out of his pocket. A pile of cards. Red with a black oval. Strange, that didn't look like a monster, nor did Sakura see any numbers or symbols for attack or defense on them.
Then Joey turned them over. Sakura jumped back, for a black dragon with red eyes stared at her from the card. Yikes! she thought. They look so real! Why draw something that would scare a little kid out of his wits?
"Hey, this is my best card," Joey said. "The Red Eyes Black Dragon. Cool, huh?"
Sakura just stared at him in surprise. How could that be 'cool?' Why did he say cool? Did that mean the card was cold? Oh, modern slang, Sakura thought. I hate it!
"We're going to have to teach her a thing or two about..." Joey paused. Sakura tensed. She had been beaten up enough to know she this was what all the bullies said and waited for a good punch...she had done something wrong, she knew it...Joey coughed. "Sorry. Duel Monsters."
Sakura sighed in relief as Yugi sat her down at a table. "Sakura, do you like reading?" he asked.
"I love to!" Sakura said, letting her mouth quirk in that odd way that was her best smile. She was only happy when she was reading or writing. She unzipped her backpack to reveal that, along with her math book, she had her five novels she carried with her.
"Hmm. Okay. Have you ever written anything?" Yugi asked.
Sakura pulled out her notebook. She flipped through it, showing every page was filled with writing except for the last five.
"Wow. Well, Duel Monsters is kind of like writing. One move can change the outcome of it," Yugi said.
Yugi continued on explaining the rules to Sakura. Joey came in a few times and explained some things, too. Sakura ended up having fun and she was going to duel Joey. Sakura suddenly felt dizzy suddenly, but didn't tell anyone.
Everybody saw something, though. Sakura's eyes got sharper. She was more strategic than anybody thought. Joey was just on the verge of winning and Sakura had a bad hand when she heard a voice in her head. Use all five cards, it said. They're like a puzzle. Its called Exodia. Use all five. Sakura put all five down. "Exodia," she said. She didn't realize that she had just made a move that was only made once before. Yugi, Téa, Tristan, and Joey were staring at her and at the five cards on the table. She saw Grandpa staring at her too.
Joey was the first to speak up. "How did you do that? Know that?" he asked.
"What?" Sakura asked. She still didn't even know she had won.
"Call Exodia," Yugi said. "That's only been done once. I didn't even tell you about it."
Sakura was now sorry she had listened to the voices in her head. "What do you mean, only done once?"
"Only done once. Like, that move was only made once. Only one person put together Exodia. Only once," Joey said, still astounded.
Grandpa came over and looked at the cards on the table. "Hmm. Looks like our beginner knows more than we think," he said. He looked at Sakura. He looked straight into her green eyes. He made a small gasp and whispered something into Yugi's ear.
"So who won?" Sakura asked.
Everybody laughed except Sakura, who was just confused. "You beat Joey so bad he'll feel it for months," Tristan said.
Sakura was amazed. Her first duel, against a seasoned duelist no less, and she had won by making a move that had only been made once. Beginner's luck, Sakura thought.
Maybe it was too much that the new girl had won, but Joey left with a mumbled "Good game."
Then Téa left with a friendly "See you at school tomorrow, Sakura."
Then Tristan left with a "Goodbye, Sakura. See you at home." Sakura had eventually told him that she was staying with him, since it was quite obvious he hadn't know already.
Grandpa went somewhere else.
Which left Yugi and Sakura together alone. He stared at her. Then his Yami took over. He walked over to her. He was still staring her. He whispered in her ear, "Meritaten?"
Sakura looked at him, confused, and was going to say, "I'm not Maritaten, I'm Sakura," but she found she couldn't. Instead she found she was saying something quite different, and in a different tongue. She somehow understood it. She was saying, "Is that really you, Pharaoh?"
Then Sakura found she couldn't move and she couldn't talk. She felt dizzy, like she had during the duel. Sakura almost went into a rampage, but since she couldn't move or talk, she didn't and couldn't.
Then Yugi was next to her. Why was he doing that? Sakura thought. Then she freaked out as he hugged her.
"Meritaten, I thought I'd never see you again!" Yugi said. He didn't sound like Yugi anymore, though. He sounded older, more mature. What had happened?
Then Sakura heard that ancient language once again. "I've missed you so much. Where have you been? Why did you do that?"
"Meritaten, I had to, for the sake of the future. I couldn't let the shadow games get out of hand," the older Yugi said. He was crying into her hair. She was crying into his. What was this? Why was Yugi crying?
Then he was kissing her. What is going on!? Sakura screamed in her head.
Shut up! said the voice in Sakura's head. Who was she? Meritaten? Whoever she was, Sakura wanted her body back. And she wanted to get as far away from Yugi as she could. Well, okay, he is kind of cute, she thought. But still!